New head coach Alister Coetzee, left, announced Adriaan Strauss as his new skipper.
Hooker Adriaan Strauss will captain South Africa for the visit of Ireland in June.
The 30-year-old succeeds former captain Jean de Villiers, who retired from international action after suffering a broken jaw during last year's World Cup.
Strauss skippers the Bulls Super Rugby franchise and will lead a new-look Springboks line-up for the three-Test series against Ireland, with new coach Allister Coetzee calling up nine uncapped players.
"Adriaan has always fulfilled a leadership role, wherever he played, since coming through the junior national structures," said Coetzee.
"He has shared the vice-captaincy role with Bismarck du Plessis for the Springboks and is also a former Cheetahs skipper and current Bulls captain. I have been impressed in my interactions with him and I have the utmost faith in him."
Strauss appears to have made the hooker's role his own over Du Plessis, with whom he has shared the No.2 jersey since the retirement of former skipper John Smit.
"I am very grateful to the coach for entrusting me with this enormous responsibility," Strauss said. "I am incredibly humbled by this huge honour and also excited about the role," he said.
South Africa welcome Ireland to Cape Town on June 11 before facing them in Johannesburg on June 18 and Port Elizabeth on June 25.
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